[Atropos]

I have the HD650 and I want a song that really shows how good they can show off the soundstage. I want something where one instrument plays after each other in a row or something. and there should be many instruments. can also be a classical music.
it should just go WOOOOW.

 

[Aman]

A few I've been very impressed by:

Yes - Tales from Topographic Oceans - "The Revealing Science of God - Dance of the Dawn"... this track doesn't have the most realistic soundstage in the world, but it's by-far one of the most incredible ones. It's just a cosmic experience - things are literally flying all around your head and in different angles/heights/directions etc. It's a reference track for me.

Donovan - Storytellers - "Josie" (180g Vinyl - also on SACD)... I like this track so much because the plucked bass is literally 3 feet to the left of my left speaker most of the time. That just demonstrates superior mastering engineering. A superb track for showing off the wideness of your soundstage.

Miles Davis - Get Up With It - "He Loves Him Madly"... this track has some pretty amazing keyboards/synthesizer soundstage that impresses me. At one point in the song, the keyboards go to pitches that are almost uncomfortable to listen to, and as the pitch and loudness increases, they continue to wrap around the listener's head, and then somehow they change to a completely different manner; they soar past your head and just continuously hit you with soundwaves (right before a transition, so it effectively works with the music!). And all the while, the percussionist's instrumentals are still straight in the middle, not moving from their spot.

 

[kwitel]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Atropos I have the HD650 and I want a song that really shows how good they can show off the soundstage. I want something where one instrument plays after each other in a row or something. and there should be many instruments. can also be a classical music. it should just go WOOOOW.

Ive got some great ones for you:

1)Depeche Modes-"People are People", the drum work at the beginning sounds incredible on a good can. It is THE song I use when auditioning new headphones.
2)Tricky' Maxinquaye album-"Overcome", has this amazing 3dimensional feel to it.
3)The Doors-"Riders on the Storm"-lots of soundeffects and keyboard-terrific.
4)As for classical-try and get the song "Morning Passages" off of the "The Hours" soundtrack. Not only is it a stunning classical piece but it utilizes many different instruments and contains lots of "peaks" and "troughs". These swing will really give your headphone a great workout.

 

[PSmith08]

Gilbert Kaplan's 2003 recording of Mahler's 2nd on Deutsche Grammophon will give your headphones a workout in all respects.

 

[bigshot]

I don't think many people know what soundstage is on this board. Soundstage isn't syths ping ponging around with phase effects like on a Pink Floyd album. It's solid placement of sound in space. This is done with careful placement of a minimum of mikes. The concept is that if you close your eyes, you should be able to point directly at each instrument and know how far away it is from you. Binaural recordings are going to give you the best soundstage, along with 50s jazz and big band, which were usually recorded for natural soundstage. Multi track / hyper-produced music like Yes, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Enya and others of that ilk are the worst for soundstage.

See ya
Steve

 

[Aman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigshot I don't think many people know what soundstage is on this board. Soundstage isn't syths ping ponging around with phase effects like on a Pink Floyd album. It's solid placement of sound in space. This is done with careful placement of a minimum of mikes. The concept is that if you close your eyes, you should be able to point directly at each instrument and know how far away it is from you. Binaural recordings are going to give you the best soundstage, along with 50s jazz and big band, which were usually recorded for natural soundstage. Multi track / hyper-produced music like Yes, Pink Floyd, Peter Gabriel, Enya and others of that ilk are the worst for soundstage. See ya Steve

Wouldn't what you're describing be called 'imaging'?

 

[TMHBAT]

Try either of these. Alia Vox CDs are recorded by Musica Numeris, a first rate European recording company. These are small ensembles of delicate antique instruments captured in wonderful stone acoustic spaces. They also happen to be great music.

Altre Follie: 1500-1750
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BO87PA

François Couperin: Les Concerts Royaux
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007Y8A9W

Otherwise, as bigshot says, some genuine binaural recordings.

The audiophile label FIM releases most of their things on the stunning XRCD24 format. The Audio Engineers Society recently selected one of FIM's XRCDs as a demonstration of the best available stereophonic sound. If you're looking more for demonstration quality than musical merit, note this recording, for which the realism of FIM's stereo was combined with true binaurally captured "nature sounds" (like I said, demonstration over music. . .).
http://store.acousticsounds.com/brow...Title_ID=17049

Or there's pure binaural environmental recordings. The Sound Tracker is as good as anything. Here's a more recent project:
http://www.soundtracker.com/esp.php?sn=ESP41

 

[elrod-tom]

I use "The Long Honeymoon" by Elvis Costello, from the Imperial Bedroom CD. It's a big room in there!!

 

[CRESCENDOPOWER]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aman Wouldn't what you're describing be called 'imaging'?

I’ve always described imaging as being the locational ques, and soundstaging being how large the image is; basically they are the same thing.

 

[rmx]

people always get a kick out of hearing "such great heights" by the postal service on my MS2i's.

 

[Beyakusenn]

I like this one myself quite a lot because many things in the audience can be heard and the significant difference in distance is easily noticeable:

 

[Solrighal]

I'd suggest having a listen to almost anything by Patricia Barber. In particular though I'd recommend Nardis, from her album Cafe Blue. Awesome.
 
Also worth checking out are Dire Straits' earlier albums, the self-titled Dire Straits & also Communique.

 

[Spyro]

  I'd suggest having a listen to almost anything by Patricia Barber. In particular though I'd recommend Nardis, from her album Cafe Blue. Awesome.
 

 I couldn't agree more.  It is absolutely criminal that the younger generation has no clue who she is or what her talents are.  I wish she could just put out a single to stoke the fire.  She's unreal...like Joni.

 

[amigomatt]

Ah Um by Charles Mingus
Illinois by Sufjan Stevens
The Final Cut by Pink Floyd

 

[DoKaTSuYa]

Aventura 14+14, this album... really nice soundstage.